Instrumented treadmill for measuring vertical ground reaction forces in horses

Area of Science:

• Equine Biomechanics
• Veterinary Technology
• Gait Analysis

Background:

• Accurate measurement of vertical ground reaction forces (vGRFs) is crucial for understanding equine locomotion and diagnosing lameness.
• Existing methods for measuring vGRFs in horses can be cumbersome or limited in scope.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel instrumented treadmill system for simultaneous measurement of vGRFs in all four limbs of horses.
• To assess the reliability and accuracy of this new system for equine gait analysis.

Main Methods:

• An instrumented treadmill was developed using 18 piezo-electric force transducers to measure forces applied to the treadmill surface.
• A system of equations was solved using the Gaussian least-squares method to calculate individual limb vGRFs from sensor data.
• System validation included accuracy, natural frequency, linearity, static load, and comparison with force shoes.

Main Results:

• The instrumented treadmill system (TiF) demonstrated high accuracy, with deviations < 1.4% compared to static test loads.
• Calculated vGRF traces from the TiF system showed a high correlation (r > 0.998) with data from force shoes.
• The system allows for reliable assessment of load distribution and interlimb coordination.

Conclusions:

• The developed instrumented treadmill provides a reliable method for assessing equine limb loading and coordination.
• This technology is suitable for both experimental and clinical applications in veterinary medicine.
• The system enables rapid and accurate data acquisition for gait analysis in horses.